Your home décor changes when you have children. Safety becomes more of a priority, as does making it a fun, friendly home for your children. However, this doesn’t mean style isn’t still important. It is difficult to incorporate your tastes, comfort and safety, while keeping your home décor stylish and child friendly. Some parents choose to have a separate space for their children to play in, in order to keep them safe, while others prefer to give their children access to the whole home. Whatever you choose, here are some great tips to help you create a happy, family friendly home.

  • Safety: Safety needs to be the priority in any home with young children. Make sure all your shelving units and TVs are secured to the walls. Install stair gates, both at the top and bottom of the stairs. Then, walk around on your hands and knees, looking for danger.
  • Walls: Keeping your walls plain gives you some great options when it comes to accessorizing. Consider using washable paint to make it childproof. Most kids at some point have a phase of wanting to draw on the walls, so consider providing chalkboard paint and a small area that can be wiped clean if you want to allow this.
  • Storage: You’re probably going to need a lot more storage when you have children. Try to organize and declutter your stuff as much as possible. A giant toy chest is a great option for keeping things tidy, but you might also want something smaller for your children to keep their favorite things, so they can get them without help whenever they want. Utilize space as much as you can. Invest in under bed storage, a TV unit with shelves, and wall mounted shelving.
  • Seating: Your seating needs to be safe and comfortable, as well as durable and easy to clean. Leather sofas are a good idea for families. They are easy to clean, hard for children to slip on, and they go with most décor. If you fancy a change, just cover your seating with a throw, or a material sofa cover. If you prefer fabric seating, look at stain resistant options, and go for darker colors.
  • Crafts: Crafting is an exceptionally good way to spend time together. Adults and kids alike can have a great time getting stuck into some crafting. But, it also helps children develop skills, learn to express themselves, and explore their creativity. Incorporate a crafting station into your family room, and make sure you have a space to show off your creations. Your kids will feel a massive sense of pride seeing something they have made on display in their home.
  • Tables: Tables are great, useful and stylish. However, they can be dangerous for children. Young children will love using items like coffee tables to pull themselves up, but, they are the perfect height for banging heads when they fall. You could buy corner covers, but a more stylish alternative is to consider covering them with upholstery or fabric puffs.
  • Flooring: Your floors need to be comfortable and safe. Wooden flooring can be a fantastic option for a family home as it’s easy to clean. However, you’ll need to make sure it’s safe. Include some soft rugs, so your children don’t slip when they start to walk. Kid friendly mats are another option. If you choose to go with carpet, dark colors hide spills much better than light.
  • Accessories: When decorating a family home, it’s important to remember that children grow and evolve. Your home needs to develop and adapt to suit their changing needs and their own developing tastes. The key to making this as easy as possible is to accessorize. Keep your walls and floors relatively plain, then add accessories like soft furnishings, throws, and other homeware, which can be easily replaced. With younger children, start by making sure everything is soft, and non-breakable, and incorporate your child’s personality.
  • Pictures: Pictures are a fantastic way of letting everyone have a part of them on the walls. Frame some prints you love. Buy some canvass, and make prints of your children’s hands and foot prints. You could even let them paint some pictures for the walls. Then, hang some family photos. A great idea is to hang photos in a hall, or stairwell, showing your family, and how it has changed through the years.

Once you’ve got children, you will find you make friends with other parents, or your current friends also start having children. So, it’s a great idea to make your home family friendly, and welcoming. Make sure it’s a place you can entertain, and that your friends and family can enjoy it as much as you do.